LAKE FOREST, Ill. –
Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher and tight
end Greg Olsen were presented with 2007 Brian
Piccolo Awards during a ceremony Thursday at Halas
Hall.
The prestigious honor has been given to a Bears rookie
since 1970 and was expanded in 1992 to include a
veteran as well. Bears players vote for the rookie and
veteran who best exemplify the courage, loyalty,
teamwork, dedication and sense of humor of the late
Brian Piccolo, a Bears running back who died from
embryonal cell carcinoma on June 16, 1970 at age 26.
“Brian has been described as dedicated, loyal, a
great teammate and a tough football player,” said
coach Lovie Smith. “You can describe our award
winners today in the same light.”
Urlacher became the fifth Bears player to win the award
as a rookie and a veteran. Last season he led the team
in tackles for the seventh time in nine seasons with
158.
Olsen, the Bears’ first-round draft pick last
year, caught 39 passes for 391 yards and 2 touchdowns
as a rookie, joining Hall of Famer Mike Ditka as the
only rookie tight ends in team history to amass at
least 300 yards receiving. “When you watch Greg
Olsen play football, it’s not real difficult to
figure out that he’s extremely talented,”
said offensive coordinator Ron Turner. “With his
size, athleticism, hands, speed and everything that
goes with it, it’s obvious he’s a great
player. But the thing that makes him special, that
makes him the player that he is, are the other things,
the intangibles, the things that maybe aren’t
quite so easy to see. That’s what separates Greg
and puts him in that category. "His character,
his work ethic, his desire to be great, leadership and
intelligence are all qualities that maybe you
don’t see, but he possesses at a great
level.”
Brian Piccolo joined the Bears as an undrafted free
agent in 1965.
Olsen also humbly thanked the Piccolo and McCaskey
families for the award. He was especially touched that
his peers voted for him.
“The greatest honor you can receive as a player
is when your teammates recognize the things you do and
the way you act,” Olsen said. “I
don’t think it gets any better than that.”
Virginia McCaskey attended Thursday's awards ceremony
in the Halas Hall auditorium along with Piccolo's
widow, Joy, and two of three Piccolo daughters, Traci
and Kristi. Patrick McCaskey, the Bears’ senior
director of special projects, served as master of
ceremonies.
Brian Piccolo joined the Bears in 1965 as an undrafted
free agent after leading the nation with 111 points and
1,044 yards rushing as a senior at Wake Forest.
He was in his fourth NFL season when a chest x-ray
revealed a malignancy. Piccolo died several months
later. His courageous battle was later portrayed in the
classic movie "Brian's Song."
When Piccolo died, the disease was 100 percent fatal,
but the cure rate today is 95 percent.
Proceeds from the Brian Piccolo Cancer Research Fund
benefit breast cancer research at Rush Medical Center
and the Clearbrook Center for the developmentally
disabled in Arlington Heights. The fund has raised more
than $5 million since 1991.
That figure will grow thanks to the NFL, which made a
$100,000 donation Thursday, the final installment of a
five-year, $500,000 pledge.
“Everything [Brian Piccolo] stood for and
everything you hear about him and the type of man
he was and how he was a family man and everything is
what everyone tries to be,” Olsen said.
“That’s kind of what the whole award stands
for, is how you act and how you can become part of
something bigger than yourself.”
(chicagobears.com)